#;dragons

Dragons are the most abundant creatures in the Heavenly Realm. Despite answering to the Heavenly Emperor as their divine ruler, they mostly get governed by the heavenly dragon Dalong Shu (claimed), the king of dragons.

Since the dragons are more beastlike in nature, and because their domains are usually physical places in the Mortal Realm, they tend to maintain a separate court from the Heavenly court, with separate rules and social norms. Dragons are the oldest creatures in the Three Realms and as such, their powers are intrinsically tied to the forces of nature. Most dragons can summon storms, command over winds, or waters, or even active volcanoes.

There are many different types of dragons, depending on what they rule over. The most powerful among them are heavenly dragons, who tend to rule over actual forces of nature, like time, vulcanism, wind, floods, etc. Just below them, are jiaolong/river dragons. While they too can summon storms with rain, thunder and lightning, their powers are limited to the lands surrounding the river they rule over. There are many other types of lesser dragons below that, like rock-dragons, for example.

The core power of a dragon always has a root source, that is usually situated in the center of their territories in the Mortal Realm. Jiaolong, often claim the spring of the river they rule over as their root of power. Dalong Shu's root of power is said to be situated in the very first shrine, humans erected in his name, long before the reign of the Heavenly Emperor began. But the location of said shrine as long since been lost in the sands of time.

Some dragons can additionally cultivate a "pearl", which is a round, pearlescent object, that contains access qi, the dragon can draw from in times of need. Among demons and particularly corrupt humans, the pearl of a dragon is an immensely valued treasure, for it can grant immense power to those, who know how to use it.

Physically, dragons can shift into three different forms: Their sophisticated (more humanoid) form, their beast form and a fish (usually carp) form.

Their sophisticated form is mostly human, with an ethereal, almost otherworldly beauty. Depending on their level of power, they can either completely, or only partially drop their beastlike appearance, but they always maintain their horns (unlike they did not grow any). Heavenly Dragons are usually barely distinguishable from martial gods, aside from their horns, clawed nails on their hands and feet and, on occasion, inhuman skin color. Jiaolong and lesser dragon tend to also have a long, muscular, serpentine tail sprout from the region where the tailbone sits in human bodies. Some lesser dragons still have scales on their bodies, sharp teeth, or look even like centaurs, just with a dragon's lower body.

The beast form is inherent to all dragons and the lowest among them, can't even shift from that to a more sophisticated form. In their beast form, they are giant serpentine dragons, with four clawed feet, and a feathered tail. They come in all colors of the rainbow, often related to their source of power.

The fish form is their resting form. A dragon only ever reverts to their fish form, if they exhausted most of their power, or are dangerously injured. The smaller, primitive form is easier to maintain and requires less energy to be kept alive. Once a dragon has recovered enough, they will shift back to their beast form.

Dragons are considered symbols of great prosperity and fertility. Since their mortal followers primarily believe them to also be symbols of male sexuality, all dragons are usually male presenting and using male pronouns. (For possible exceptions to this rule, read here about Baohu Ku's female form) However, that is more a custom of convenience, than a true representation of their sexes, sexualities or gender identities. Because dragons, as the oldest creatures in the realms, transcend the concept of sex, gender and sexuality. They can reproduce with partners of any sex and species, both sexually and asexually. They are capable both of siring and conceiving children. If they are siring a child, the child will usually have more dominant traits of the conceiving parent. If they are conceiving, they will be gravid with an egg. After some time of internal incubation, the dragon will "birth" the egg and further incubate it externally, until it hatches. An egg usually contains only one child, but occasionally there will be twins. (more infos about dragon eggs, incubation and related superstitions) Children born from a dragon's egg, usually possess more dominant dragons' traits. Asexual conception can be achieved with a partner that has a high enough cultivation level to perform a rite of mutually consenting energetic exchange. In such a case, the conceiving partner is either the dragon, if the other partner is non-draconic, or the weaker partner, if both are draconic.